Christian perspectives

The 300th Death Anniversary:

Blessed Joseph Vaz

E. Weerapperuma

The Jubilee year in view of the 300th Death Anniversary of the Blessed Joseph Vaz was declared on January 14th by Kurunegala Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Harald Anthony Perera.

His Lordship was the Chief celebrant at the festive High Mass held at the Shrine of Blessed Joseph Vaz, the Apostle of Sri Lanka.

Fr. Vaz, the zealous missionary of Sri Lanka - served the Catholic community for 24 years since he stepped into the country in 1687 in disguise.

The pioneering missionary of the Oratorian Congregation worked all his life to spread us the good news of Jesus Christ travelling up and down from Pesale to Kandy on foot working for Christian communities. Who lived and practice their faith in secret, fear of the Dutch Government, who were prosecuting the people who professed Catholic faith and give protection to Fr. Vaz who was their hope. The Shrine at Galgamuwa dedicated to the Blessed Vaz is part of the St. Benedict's parish at Galgamuwa. The festive Holycross on January 14th was concelebrated with the participation of nearly 20 priests. Devotees from far and near were present at the celebration marked with the declaration of the Jubilee year.

In the year 1995 January 21, Pope John Paul II - declared Ven. Joseph Vaz a Blessed at the special pontifical High Mass offered at the Galle Face Green, Colombo.

The devotees are hopeful that the blessed will be raised a saint of the Universal Church before the year 2011, which is scheduled to mark the 300th Death Anniversary of the Blessed Joseph Vaz.

Children's Day at Tewatte

Ranjith LOKUPOTHAGAMA Katana group correspondent

The 62nd Annual Archdiocesan Catholic Children's Day will be held on Saturday March 06 from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka in Tewatta, Ragama.

The chief celebrant will be Most Rev. Dr. Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo.

The theme for the children's day 2010 is "Your servant is here, take me into your service."

The Holy Mass will be at 8.30 a.m. A camp is organised on this day after mass to help children to realise and have a deep understanding of their vocations.

Most Rev. Dr. Nicholas Marcus Fernando and Most. Rev. Dr. Oswald Gomis, Archbishops Emeritus of Colombo, Most Rev. Dr. Marius Peiris, the Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, Episcopal vicars, catechetical coordinators and Rev. Fathers will participate.

Rev. Fr. Indra R. Fernando, Archdiocesan catechetical Director and the catechetical commission of the Archdiocese will organise the children's day. The commission expects that about 20,000 children will participate in this event.

Pope urges human dignity in face of terror threat

Pope Benedict XVI stressed Saturday the primacy of human dignity, even in the face of the terrorist threat, in a meeting with Italy's civil aviation chiefs.

"In every action, it is above all essential to protect and value the human person in their integrity", the pope said to an audience including the head of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) and its staff.

"Respecting these principles can seem particularly complex and difficult in the present context", the pope said to the audience that also included Transport Minister Altero Matteoli.

"The economic crisis has had problematic effects on the civil aviation sector", he said, as well as "the international terrorist threat which, precisely, has in its line of fire airports and aircraft to realise its destructive schemes".

"Even in this situation, one must never forget that respecting the primacy of the human person and attention to his or her needs does not make the service less efficient nor penalise economic management".

"On the contrary", the pope said, "this represents important guarantees for real efficiency and true quality". VATICAN CITY, AFP

'Well done my good and faithful servant':

A tribute to Bishop Swithin Fernando

Rev. Canon Padmasiri Bhareti

The above can be said of the Bishop Swithin Fernando who passed away in his sleep on February 4, 2009 a year before his 92nd birthday which fell on January 12, 2010. He lived in the Cathedral premises in the retired clergy homes. He had his wife Gwen with him until she left him to himself, which he preferred to do, although his son John wanted him to come over to him.

He had become weak and took to a wheelchair in which he went round the Cathedral every evening.

While seated on his chair he waived at each one he met while he walking. He did forget to say "Hello" to us. He even requested us to step into his home for a moment. He was very happy to recollect my own brother Felix and my sister Dulcie who were his school mates at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, where he studied. He had no degree behind him but he was more than a qualified theologian.

He was a friend of his people. Bishop Swithin served as Vicar in several parishes and helped many young priests. He had no favourites as everyone was his friend and attached to him. After his wife Gwen died, John, his son and family took him to Australia for a rest. I paid him a visit in his home when my wife and I was with our son in Melbourne on a holiday. I remember him telling me "Padma, I wish I can take the next plane back to Sri Lanka to be with my people. He loved them just as they loved him.

He went again to his son and even this did not agree with him.

Emeritus Bishop Swithin was the Vicar, of several parishes in the Diocese specially St. Luke and St. Michael's, Kollupitiya. When at St. Michael's I was placed under him before my ordination in 1968. After ordination I was sent to the missionary fields of Moratuwa, Baddegana, Kotte and Laxapathiya. From Laxapathiya I was placed in-charge of St. Paul's Milagiriya. He was then the Bishop being ordained in 1978.

When Bishop came to install me in the parish as Vicar he burst out in a thundering sermon from the Pulpit and as we came back to the Vestry he said "Padma, the spirit of God was with me and He wanted me to tell you and the people that St. Paul's has to change. This happened during my period of seven years. I must thank the Bishop for the inspiration and encouragement he gave me from time to time. I had requested the Bishop to release me to work among elders but he refused saying I must work for all people. Later on he was happy that I was able to do so.

Bishop Swithin has given us an example as to how we can be God's faithful servants, to be a good and successful administer of a Diocese. He presided over many Diocesan Councils with much patience and skill. The Bishop has done his task. God will reward him. A service of Thanksgiving for his life will be held at the Cathedral on 22nd at 6 p.m.

Holy Father blesses Madeira flood victims, rescuers

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday sent a message blessing the victims of floods on the Portuguese island of Madeira that have killed at least 42 people, as well as their relatives and rescuers.

The pope "assures the entire local community of his concern, recommending victims to the mercy of God and asking for comfort and support for their families, the injured and those who have lost their possessions," said the missive, addressed to Madeira's Bishop Antonio Jose Carrilho. The pope "blesses all those distressed by this drama, without forgetting those who are taking part in rescue and assistance" to the affected population, said the telegram signed on the pope's behalf by Vatican number two Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Flash floods and killer mudslides ripped through the Atlantic island at the weekend, claiming 42 lives as they gutted buildings and overturned cars and leaving 32 people missing feared dead. VATICAN CITY, Friday, AFP

Cardinal John Henry Newman

Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Cardinal John Newman's birth anniversary fell on February 21. He was born on 1801. In September Newman will be beatified - that is, "the official act of the pope whereby a deceased person is declared to be enjoying the happiness of heaven, and therefore a proper subject of religious honour and public cult in certain places."

Newman's influence

Ordained an Anglican priest in 1825, Newman's influence across the ecclesiastical spectrum is so wide that it is said it would be presumptuous if any single communion claims him entirely for its own. For Rome's Second Vatican Council, Newman is said to have been its ecumenical guide and moral preceptor. At the same time, it is said that the average evangelical services are conducted today, as Newman would have liked. There is hardly a university without a Newman Centre.

Newman's emphasis on the conscience made him take his Church of England towards Rome. The watch-phrase was that the Protestant Reformation had thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Oxford Movement

Their Oxford Movement, so named because many of its members were from Oxford University, was also known as The Tractarians because of their extensive use of tracts and as Newmanites showing Newman's influence in its formation.

The Oxford Movement in 1833 began a Catholic revival in Anglicanism because since the rift with Rome early in the sixteenth century, the Puritans (hardline Protestants) had rid Anglicanism of many Catholic articles of religion, influenced by continental reformers. The Newmanites argued for the re-inclusion of traditional catholic faith erroneously jettisoned in the heat of the reformation.

They saw Anglicanism as a third branch of the Catholic Church along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. In this view, the Anglican Communion never rejected its Catholic roots because Britain parted from Rome for political reasons unlike the Germans (Luther), French (Calvin) and Swiss (Zwingli) who parted for theological reasons.

Arguing for the reinstatement of Roman Catholic practices in the Anglican Church at some point made it impossible for Newman to reconcile Episcopal authority with Anglicanism. In 1845 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church and admitted to Roman holy orders in 1846. He was made Cardinal in Rome in 1879. Many in the Oxford movement had preceded him into the Roman Church and many followed him.

The Oxford Movement itself was continued by other leaders like Edward Pusey. Newman lived a celibate life even as an Anglican, practising a monastic life. Many Anglican traditionalists felt betrayed by Newman's defection to Rome.

Newman's great mind was felt everywhere, even in Sri Lanka. The idea that the English Reformation had given up things of value now gripped every Protestant mind.

Lankan missionaries

Sri Lankan missionaries had generally been protestant Methodists or from the Anglicans' Church Missionary Society (CMS) characterized by Protestant (i.e. Low Church) practices. The great mission schools were by them.

As Church of Ceylon records show, the bishops of this low-Church persuasion, soon gave way after Newman to High Church bishops who advanced Catholic teachings. I have seen an old prayer book connected to Pusey (with rubrics on when to cross ourselves and quietly say Hail Mary three times). It was promoted by one of these bishops and is still privately used by some Anglicans.

Rev. Robert Pargiter who came as a Methodist Missionary to Sri Lanka joined the Anglican Church and was principal of St. John's College, Jaffna (1846-66).

Methodist missionary

My own ancestor, Rev. Elijah Hoole (not to be confused with the great Methodist missionary working in Madras by that name after whom he was named) had been converted at the Methodist's Hartley College, Point Pedro.

He was switched to Anglicanism around 1850 and worked as Tamil Pandit at St. John's College (named after St. John the Evangelist) and later as Native Pastor of the Church of St. John the Baptist, Chundicully.

Even as Methodists were influenced by the Oxford Movement to see the Anglican Church as a half-way house between Methodism and Rome, others became outright Roman Catholics.

[Weekly devotions]

Shem, Ham and Japheth

Sunitha Sahayam

These are the three sons of Noah. The Bible tells us that all the people of the whole world stem from these three. Today scientifically it is proven through DNA and other facts that this is true. Not that it matters what science has to say, because as believers we base our pathway of understanding of creation and its tributaries on the Bible.

Noah, had some wonderful qualities, but this does not or cannot eradicate the fact that man was born in sin and fell into sin - the readings from the Bible tells us in Genesis 9:20 onwards that Noah got drunk and slept naked.

And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.

Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness. So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said:

"Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren."

And he said:

"Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant."

When Noah comes out of his drunken stupor, he pronounces or prophesies what is to happen in the future to his three sons.

Ham who saw his nakedness is cursed whilst the other two get the father's blessings and in this was actually hidden their future.

Ham: youngest son of Noah

Ham means - warm, hot, also an Egyptian word meaning 'black'. The curse pronounced by Noah against Ham, was accomplished when the Jews subsequently exterminated the Canaanites. Cannan was Ham's son

One of the most important facts recorded in Gen 10 is the foundation of the earliest monarchy in Babylonia by Nimrod the grandson of Ham. The primitive Babylonian empire was thus Hamitic, and of a race with the primitive inhabitants of Arabia and of Ethiopia. The race of Ham were the most energetic of all the descendants of Noah in the early times of the post-diluvian world.

(From Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright (c) 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Egypt is singularly the land of Ham (Ps 78:51; 105:23). The Hamites were the first to have projected into art and science. The earliest empires were theirs.

They were worldly and materialistic. Hence their civilization, fell apart sooner than that of the Semitic and Japhetic races. Thus fulfilling the curse of Noah. Ammon, the god of Africa, is related to Ham.

So what can we learn from Ham's life ? One of the commandments God gave Moses out of the ten was to honour your father and mother, no matter what.

They may not be 100% but just because they are your father and mother, God expects you to respect them. We see Ham mocking his father Noah in his nakedness but the other two sons reacted differently and obtained the father's blessings.

Prayer

Father, we see how important it is to honour our father and mother unconditionally. Help us to love them and honour them, so that our lives will be blessed generation after generation. Similarly, if we fail in this we will be cursed and spiritually disintergrate.

Help us to walk in your way and take warnings seriously. In Jesus' name we ask you to bless our relationship with our parents and help us to honour them even to the end of their lives-Amen.

A beam of sunlight falls across the face of a portrait of Mary MacKillop at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in Sydney on February 20. Pope Benedict XVI has announced MacKillop will become Australia’s first Roman Catholic saint when she is canonised in Rome on October 17. AFP